The White Dove
This is the first book in The Dove Triology. Chapter 1- The First Dove Cleo Belle was gazing out her window one afternoon. She wanted some quiet, and at last, she got some. Cleo stared outside. She was a demigod. Her father used to be a mortal that could see through the mist. Her parents owned a huge fashion company in New York City. Cleo sighed, and left her window. Her room was too pink. She threw off her hat and sat down on her bed. She needed to visit camp. Surely her dad would understand. Downstairs, her step mom was pushing the furniture around. “Mom, where’s dad?” Cleo asked. Her mom turned around. Megan Belle was beautiful. She had blonde hair and deep blue eyes like the night sky. Megan pursed her lips and gazed at her daughter. “You know, honey. He’s out for the contest.” Cleo nodded, and turned away. “I’m going to Camp Half Blood. Tell him, OK?” Cleo’s mom took a breath. “I understand, Cleo. I do.” Cleo nodded and went upstairs. When she went outside, a dove swooped over her. It dropped a pouch. Cleo opened it, to find white dust that sparkled like diamonds. Cleo was waiting outside the glass walls of Ella™. Cleo was not surprised when she found out her father had left New York City. She opened the velvet red pouch again, to find the same kind of sparkling dust. Cleo closed the pouch and pulled the drawstring to it. She waited for the bus, right outside her parent's company, Ella™. Cleo decided it wouldn't hurt to go inside for awile. She opened her handbag, the big orange-yellow one with a metal clasp, and pulled out her wallet. It was decorated with diamonds, and photos, and other cool things she happened to stick on. Cleo pulled out a gift card her dad gave her. $50. Besides, she could shop at Ella™ for free. Cassie was always there when she got something. Cleo found Cassie talking to someone. Cleo twisted her brown hair, and bit her lip. Cassie pointed to another rack of clothes, and the woman hurried away. The blue polka-dot walls looked great. Cassie saw Cleo and said, "My, my. If it isn't Princess Cleo." Cleo shrugged. "It is." "Need an outfit?" Cassie asked. "Well..." Cleo said. "I guess I'll just, you know, browse." Cleo walked around the mall Ella™ was inside. She touched a satin turqoise-white polka-dot shirt.It was gorgeous. I have to get this, Cleo thought. She pulled it on her arm and kept looking. Cleo found a pink sparkling folded skirt. It was edged up and down. It was beautiful. Cleo pulled a pair of white sandals to her new outfit. Cassie shook her head. "Tsk, tsk, Cleo. You are lucky. New, free outfits, every single day!" She piled the clothes in the blue-white polka-dotted shopping bag that was huge and filled up the door. Half the door. The real price was forty bucks. That's cheap, thought Cleo. And that was when the bus pulled up. Cleo ran the best she could with an inch and a half length high heels. Chapter 2- The First Script Cleo arrived at camp during sword practice. She needed to know what in the world she was going to do next. Cleo found her self dreaming on the bus. Camp Half-Blood was the 3rd stop from the last. So she closed her eyes... Cleo found herself standing in front of a beautiful woman. She looked like Cleo's perfect type- not one of those advertising models for Ella™. Cleo always thought they were not beautiful from the inside. Just those kinda fashion wannabes. Cleo saw the woman- perfect clothing. She was wearing makeup, but applied smally- and that was a good thing. Too much looked terrible. Cleo had seen it in real life. "Mom," Cleo said. It was really her mother. Aphrodite. Aphrodite smiled at her daughter. Cleo then knew she must be thinking of herself- she meant, Cleo. Yes, Cleo. "Yes, it's me, Cleo. How's your life and how's Ryan and Angel?" Aphrodite asked. "Mom and dad are fine," Cleo said. "And I'm good." "Do you know what that is, the one in your hands?" Cleo looked down. It was the pouch. "It's, magic dust, isn't it?" She asked. The velvet felt soft and made her want to close her eyes. "It's magic," Aphrodie promised. "It's magic. Makes you want to close your eyes and stay that way forever." "Like... like love magic?" Cleo asked. She yawned. Yes- in her sleep. "Exactly." Aphrodite nodded. "So you sent the dove?" Cleo asked. "Doves are you're-" "Doves are my specialty." Aphrodite agreed. "I did sent that dove. Her name is Tany." "Oh," Cleo breathed. "She's magic." Aphrodite tossed Cleo a white feathered shawl and a thin, papery writing. It read: '' You'll find your companion dove,'' You'll find the bird of love, Tame of the grow, And collect what you know. "Tany will find you," Aphrodite promised. "It's your stop, Cleo. I love you," Cleo's eyes popped open. It was her stop. She grabbed her bags- and the shawl, and hopped off the bus. Chapter 3- Tany Angeline Avery, Cleo's best friend, spotted her first. Cleo, who was holding onto the pouch, which she mustn't lose, waved the best she could. Angeline rushed up to her. "My gods, Cleo, you look like you've been attacked by shopping zombies with all those bags. Lemme help you." Angeline wrenched 2 bags out of her hands. Cleo yelped. Angeline yelled to nearby campers, "Look who's here! It's the princess of Ella ™." Some campers didn't even bother to look at Cleo. Angeline took Cleo's bags up Half Blood Hill. "Wait!" Cleo screamed, running to catch up. This was normal. Angeline dissapeared down the hill. Peleus was still sleeping. I better be quiet, Cleo thought, as she ran as silently as she could toward Angeline. Cleo tripped over growing roots in the grass and screamed as she fell, yes fell, down Half Blood Hill. Cleo was dizzy. It was just an hour after she fell. Angeline was in front of her. Cleo shrugged off the shaky feeling. She still felt her shoulders missing, her stomach floating, and the tight feeling while falling down, in mid air. Cleo winced as she raised her arm. It was a bit red. No harm done. Angeline looked so tight. She was still smiling, and talking to a girl with a blonde ponytail and sky blue eyes. The girl smiled at Cleo. Juliet, Cleo remembered. Juliet nodded toward Cleo. "There's your friend. She's awake- and much better." Angeline winked at me. "So happy you're alive!" She squeaked. Cleo nodded. "Me too." She got up. Her right foot up to her knee was bandaged in white strips. Cleo winced again, and pulled herself together. Juliet nodded. "It'll heal soon," she promised. Outside, Cleo looked up into the sky. She changed into the clothes she got at Ella ™. She also wore the shawl. At first, Cleo thought it would kill the outfit. But it perfectly matched. Aphrodite's magic, Cleo thought. She sat down on a stool in her cabin and opened a book. It was white and had blue in it. She wrote: I just hurt myself an or our hour ago. I fell down half blood hill when I tipped tripped on the roots root roots of Thalia's pine. Juliet healled healed me, and now I'm wearing the shall shwll shawll'' shawl to see if Tany will come and finnd find me.'' Cleo closed her notebook and left her cabin and waited for Tany. Longer, longer... A white shape blurred in front of her. Tany landed on Cleo's arm. Cleo yelped, Tany flew in alarm. Cleo calmed herself down, and rubbed her cheek against Tany's soft, white, clean feathers... she could stay that way forever. Chapter 4- The Dust Magic Works Cleo folded her arms. Tany swooped down and pulled a belt out from under Cleo's bag. It was furry rich brown, Cleo remembered Megan Belle had given it to her when in was popular. Cleo wore it along with the polka dotted satin shirt, and blue jeans. She wore the belt, and attached the velvet dust pouch onto it. She strapped Aelline onto it also. Tany flew around the Aphrodite cabin. Something happened. Tracy Levour stepped in through the door. First thing: She screamed. Tany knocked down three bottles of perfume in alarm. The glass broke and the cabin was filled with pink, red and green smoke that smelled of strawberry, apple and lime. It was not a good mixture. The smoke filled the air until both girls couldn't see. Tany had flew out the door. Cleo unstrapped Aelline and cut a hole in the air. It didn't work. Smoke filled up the space. Cleo gagged. "Tany!" She screamed. A familiar landing hit her arm. Warm spread around her. Tany. Cleo touched the dove's delicate feathers. Tracy, however, was having a bit trouble. She dropped to the ground, frightened, and sobbing. She clutched the rug and coughed. Perfume filled her mouth and she swallowed the unpleasent taste. She found the door and pulled it open. Sunlight streamed. The perfume flew out by a gust of wind. "HELP!" Tracy screamed. Campers gasped and gagged. "What is that?" One said, pointing to the stuff that was leaking out of the Aphrodite cabin. "Dunno," the other said to his friend. Cleo coughed and fell out. Tany was on her arm. "You," Tracy pointed to Cleo. Her green eyes darted back from Tany to Cleo. "You are in so much trouble." She choked. By now, most of the campers had gathered around. Cleo knew Tany would be in trouble. "Fly away," Cleo whispered. Tany purred, or made a noise like a purr. She flew away into the sky. A thin, gorgeously dressed asian girl pushed her way through the crowd. "What have you done to my cabin?" she gasped. She looked too dressed. She wore clothes- they looked great. But, she wore so much makeup. She wore too much jewlery. But everyone knew her, so they were familiar with her style. The girl pointed a lime green fingernail at Cleo. "Well? Speak up!" Cleo closed her eyes. "I didn't do anything." "Oh yes you did," Tracy pressed. She looked terrible. Her brown hair was frizzy. Her makeup was drained and poured down her cheeks from tears of blinking back the perfume. "She had a bird!" "A bird?" The girl shrieked. "Was it a pigeon? They're disguisting! D-d-did it-" "It was a dove!" Cleo argued. "No pigeon! What's with you and pigeons, Drew?" Drew stared at Cleo, hard. "When I was young, a pigeon landed on my head and-" She cut off, clearly embarresed. She covered it with a hard stare. "Why did you have a dove?" She demanded. Drew wasn't the conselour, but she acted like she was. "Aphrodite, mom, sent it to me!" Cleo shouted, annoyed. "Gosh! I can't even have my own plans." "You can't," Drew agreed. "Tracy, hon, what happened?" "The dove knocked down the perfume. Then it pecked on me and-" "Tany did not!" Cleo argued. "She'd never-" "And- and that happened." Tracy finished, sobbing. Drew wrapped her arm around Tracy. "Well," she said to Cleo. "I hope you have a good excuse not to clear this up," "I hope," Cleo muttered. Then, something told her to use the magic dust. Cleo opened the pouch, and before anybody could say anything, she tossed some at Tracy and Drew. They sparkled for a bit. Then, they blinked, like they were trying to see clearly. "Why-" Drew began, taking her arm off Tracy, and backing off. "What happened?" The campers shuffled around. Nothing took so long. Tracy opened her mouth, but Cleo turned around and headed into the Aphrodite cabin. It was all new and clean. Not a trail of smoke or spilt perfume. Chapter 5- The Journey Starts Soon after awhile, Cleo stretched and sat in bed. She was in her cabin, and everything was normal The dust magic had worked. Thanks mom, thought Cleo. She held the pouch in her hand. The thin papery writing of her script was in her hand, too. I wonder how it got there, Cleo thought shakily. She read the lines over and over again. She could not stop thinking about them. Her first journey. She immediatly decided Angeline should come with her. Angeline was her best friend, and smart. She had to come. Cleo got out of bed. It was the afternoon. "What?" Cleo spluttered. "How in the world-?" She tucked the pouch and script in her belt. Better visit Angeline, Cleo thought stretching and walking out the door. When Cleo was finished, Angeline had a wonderous look on her face. "So, you want me to come?" she asked. "Really?" Cleo nodded. "Yep. Well, we need to get ready." "What if-" Angeline stopped. her voice dropped down to a shaky whisper. "What if one of us doesn't return alive?" Cleo didn't answer. She unwrapped the script and read the purpose to herself. Angeline looked curious. "Tell me," she begged. Cleo read it out loud. "So," Angeline said. "We need to rescue a half-blood we don't even know." "It's life or death," Cleo pointed out. "We don't, she dies.She'll be tracked down. And Aphrodite said there's others like us. They go on top secret quests for other purposes. The questers, or something. There are other groups... like half-bloods who go on quests with magic." She held up the velvet pouch. "So your bird will help us. She knows when something is in trouble?" Angeline asked. "Yeah." "What's her name?" Angeline asked, leaning forward, eager. Cleo backed away. "Angeline, we better pack up," Cleo said, desperatly trying to change the subject. "What's her name?" Angeline persisted. "Um.. Tany. Don't tell." "You don't trust me?" Angeline sniffed, wiping her eyelids. Her gray eyes blinked. "Of course not. Now we'd better pack." Cleo left the Athena cabin. When she turned to look back, the owl on the door stared at her. Cleo nodded, as if she knew something it didn't. Or was it the other way around? Cleo shook her head that was wandering off to conclusions. "Stop that," she muttered to herself. Then she walked away. Chapter 6- A Little Drink from the Styx Cleo waited 'till the sun went down. Angeline told no one about the purpose, or she was leaving. Chiron was at the Big House. When the girls arrived, Chiron asked Angeline, "Do you know why you're going?" Angeline nodded solemnly. "I know." "Good. You also know if one of you-?" "Yes," Chiron turned to Cleo. He was in his wheelchair, so he had to rotate it, since Cleo was on the other side. "Cleo, my girl, you do know what to do? Your mother gave a purpose." "Yep," Cleo unfolded the script. One side the purpose, the other the prophecy. She read both sides. Chiron nodded. "Then you are ready. Speak nothing of this to a soul." He nodded to the door. "Remember, what awakes you most depends on the reason." Cleo and Angeline woke up when there was a loud brake sound on the train. They hopped off the LIRR train along with more than a dozen other people. They carried a bag of supplies. Chiron had said not to pack your valuables, incase you lost the bag or something. They stepped off the platform, down a few steps, and up some more. They had reached Manhattan in just a few minutes. Angeline opened the script. "Now where do we go?" Cleo pointed to a resturant with bright flashing lights. A lot of people went in and out. As they came closer, they saw it was a McDonalds chainstore. Cleo shrugged, "Let's get something to eat." Angeline chose a table near the large glass wall, where you could see the outside. Cleo got up and went to the counter, where she got a sugar and two straws. She took them and ordered chicken nuggets, barbecue and fries. "I'll get a cherry smoothie with blackberries," Angeline added. "And I'll get an apple-yellow smoothie," Cleo finished off. Once the food was on their table, Cleo asked, "Where do we sleep at night?" "You'll see," Angeline winked. "I've done this on quests before. You're lucky you chose me." Cleo and her friend stirred their smoothies with their straws. Cleo bit into a french fry. Angeline took a peice of the barbecue. Angeline was about to take her first drink, when she yelped and almost flew off the seat. Cleo asked, "What is it?" Angeline eyed her smoothie. "Those aren't blackberries." She said cautiously. "Then what are they?" Cleo asked. "Frozen blackberry shaped bits from the Styx!" Angeline announced. Suddenly, Cleo's smoothie didn't look so appetizing anymore. "Let's leave," she suggested. The whole place seemed veiled with something evil now. They slipped out the door without another word. Chapter 7- My Name's Not Nylon The shiny moon glowed down the dark alley, and for once in their lives, Manhattan seemed overpowered. Cleo leaned against the brick wall, and saw the trash cans. It was the back of a grocery store, which was closed. They had climbed over the gate. "The Half-Blood's in Manhattan," Cleo told Angeline. "We have exactly 3 hours, 15 minutes, and 12, 11, 10, yes, 7 seconds to bring him or her to camp." Angeline shruddered. "Or else she or he'll be tracked down." The two tried to keep warm, for it was a cold summer night. After a perfect 30 minutes, Angeline woke. "OH MY GODS!" she half screamed, half gasped. "How long have we been asleep?" She reached in their supplies bag and pulled out the watch. It had been 31 minutes since their last conversation. Angeline shook Cleo. She groaned and pushed Angeline away. Angeline was worried. But not for long...She walked toward a garbage can. "Aw- yuck- ouch!" Cleo spluttered. She woke to see Angeline with an empty soda bottle, and Cleo's clothes soaked with a grape-flavored Crush soda. "Why'd you do that?" Cleo demanded. Angeline said, "You were asleep, and wouldn't wake up!" Cleo blinked. "Yeah, you are smart." She said sarcastically. "We have to keep moving. Just 2 hours and something minutes, something seconds left." Cleo nodded. "Let's scram." Cleo had worn the white shawl. "Are you sure about this?" Angeline asked. Cleo nodded. As if an cue, Tany landed on Cleo's arm. She suspiciously smelt of apple perfume. A few minutes of walking, they reached a bus stop. Standing a distance from it, they saw a girl with green eyes and brown-blonde hair sitting on the metal seat. There was another girl with blue eyes and blonde hair watching the green-eyed girl from behing a mailbox. The girl with blue eyes stared hungrily at the girl in green eyes. Tany's muscles tensed. Cleo could feel it. Tany looked at the girl in blue eys with terrified eyes. Her eyes blinked in terror. She turned to Cleo. The girl. Sit on chair. Danger. Girl attack! She said in Cleo's mind for the first time. Cleo stroked Tany's feathers. Tany repeated over and over those words. Finally, it hit Cleo. The girl in blue eyes was a monster. The girl in green eyes was the half-blood they had been looking for. Cleo told Angeline. The monster saw the two girls and the dove, and bared her fangs. Wait a second, thought Cleo. Fangs? The empousa attacked. Angeline reached for her sword and Cleo unstrapped Aelline. Tany flew to the half-blood with green eyes. The girl caught sight of the fight going on. She stroked Tany's feathers. "What's going on?" She muttered to the dove, who was leaning against her arm. "Look's like an unfair fight to me." The bus the half-blood was waiting for never came. A bloody fight took place in the sidewalk. Cleo sprinkled half of her dust on the empousa, and Angeline slashed the empousi with her sword. Her last words were "Not fair! Not-" Cleo and Angeline reached the half-blood. "What's your name?" she asked. "Nylock," the girl replied, still stoking Tany's feathers. "Nylon? Isn't that a type of fabric?" "My name's not Nylon! It's Nylock." "Well, c'mon Nylock. We're going somewhere safe." Nylock looked suspicious. "Trust us." Angeline snapped her fingers, and wind rippled through them. Nylock finally agreed. "My dad will worry," she warned. "Your dad knows," Angeline promised. Chapter 8- Rewards, rewards Nylock's dad was called. It was an emergency, as Chiron put it. Cleo finally decided that she needed a good sleep. It was 1:00 a.m, and the three girls were tired, their eyes were practically closed. In her dream, Aphrodite appeared again, this time in a sparkling red dress. "You succeeded, then," she said, clearly proud of her daughter. "Yes," Cleo said. "As you see, Angeline was there to help me." Aphrodite told Cleo, "You'll be in a bit of luck soon." Cleo smiled. "How so?" "A little gift from your mom," Aphrodite answered. Cleo then said, "I know I'll like it." Aphrodite nodded in agreement. "You need to be rewarded. The next time will come soon." "What next time?" Cleo demanded. She didn't know there was a next time. "You understand, Cleo," Aphrodite promised, glancing at the clock in the bedroom she was in. "Time to wake," She told Cleo. Then, Cleo found herself dreaming of pink unicorns jumping over rainbows and sailing on pink clouds. Cleo jumped out of bed. A unicorn was at her. She shook the feeling off. It was true. Time had passed quick. The cabin was cleaned for cabin inspection, and her cabin was getting dressed in the bathroom for breakfast. Once all the cabins were lined outside, Cleo spotted Nylock with the Hermes cabin. She looked happy. She waved at Cleo. Cleo couldn't elp feeling proud for herself and happy for Nylock. Chiron handed Cleo and Angeline two packages. Once they opened it, there were two different items. Aphrodite had given Cleo a hand-mirror with a pink-white marble frame, and Angeline had gotton an idea book. It was a fat pink book with a yellow-gold pen. Even with dyslexia, it could follow your thoughts. Angeline went crazy about it. After all, they were gifts from a goddess. Nylock was claimed as a child of Demeter later on that day. "Hey!" She waved to get their attention. The two girls rushed to see her at Greek Mythology. "Angeline, Cleo. Look," she said. She brought out a bag. She then handed Cleo and Angeline mango shower gels. "So nice of you!" Cleo commented. Angeline smelled the gel, and said, "This is great smelling. I love the scent." Nylock grinned. "I hoped you would. Thanks again for bringing me here! I'd be dead if it weren't for you guys. And that cute dove Tany." Cleo couldn't help feeling happy! Chapter 9- Tany Says Goodbye Cleo was speaking to Drew that afternoon. Drew stared at the sky, and screamed, "It's a pigeon!" she ran into her cabin, waving her arms frantically. Cleo looked. There was no pigeon. It was Tany! She grinned and held out her arm. Tany landed and folded her wings. "So Tany, what brings you here?" Cleo asked. Have to go, Tany answered. "Oh, that reminds me," Cleo reached in her bag and pulled a lime bath. Tany loved it. "Well, this means it's it, right?" Cleo said mournfully. We meet soon, Tany promised. Tell me so! "I will," Cleo grinned. "We'll meet soon!" So long, Tany nudged her feathers against Cleo's arm. She flew off into the sky. Cleo waved. Then she turned back to her cabin. A frightened Drew peeked out the door, ducked in again, and slowly peeked out asked, "Is it gone? Can I come out?" "Perfectly safe, I tell you," Cleo grinned. Drew came out, hands on her hips. "It's not funny!" "It's not," Cleo agreed. "It's your hair." Horrified, Drew turned pale and touched her head. Screaming, she ran back into the Aphrodite cabin. Cleo burst into laughter. Angeline joined her, and asked, "Whatcha laughing about?" Cleo laughed so hard, then shook her head. She bit her cheeks from inside her mouth, and puffed out her cheeks. The smile cleaned. "Tell you later," she said. "I can't wait," Angeline replied, licking her fingers. She eyed the small lime green tub filled with bubbles and water. "Tany's gift?" They had planned the bath. "Yep," Cleo said. "She left." "Aphrodite talked...?" Angeline asked. Cleo smiled. "Another adventure's coming soon!" she said. Chapter 10- Cleo's New Room Cleo had reached her home that very next day. Her stepmom was there, wearing a green tang-top and a white short skirt. She smiled at Cleo warmly, and talked her into a nice dinner. Clleo agreed. They were having dinner at a Five Star Hotel. "That's cool. Thanks." Cleo went to her room. Her stepmom was smiling excitedly. When Cleo turned the handle to her bedroom, she opened it and gasped. It had gotton a make-over. The walls were yellow, her bed was pink and white. A plastic blue-white polka-dotted desk stood near the window. A vase of roses bloomed on the sill. The window was open, fresh air rushed in. Cleo's closets were plastered with cool decorated pictures of her family and friends. She saw her favorite movie posters, and songs. Cleo peeked in. It was organized. Her things in boxes, her clothes in order. Her desk looked neat. And her dressing table looked fine. Cleo spied some shopping bags stuffed with colored tissue paper on her bed. There were clothes and perfume inside. "MOM!" Cleo cried, running downstairs. "That was awesome!" "Glad you liked it, Cleo." Her stepmom nodded. Cleo shook her head. "I don't like it." Her stepmom cocked her head. "I don't like it," Cleo repeated. "I love it!" "That reminds me," Megan Belle said. She slipped out a gift card from her designer jacket. "Not another one!" Cleo groaned. Her parents might be rich. But she had enough of the gifts. She held up her hands in protest. But it was in her hands. "A gift from your parents," Megan said. "Oh.. and your goddess mom." She gave a quick nod. Her hair was curled today, so the curls bounced like golden springs. Her eyes sparkled. "Thanks, it's very nice of you.." Cleo said. She thought about the rest of the year coming on. She'd have to start 9th grade at her new school. Cleo gave her stepmom a broad smile, and waved. She grabbed her green jacket off the hooks in the living room (which was enormous) and stepped outside. The fresh air rose her hopes. With that, she thought, Anything is possible. This is the End of Book One Next Book: The Pastel Pink Dove Do you like The White Dove? Yes, I love it Yes, I like it. Ummm...it's OK..I guess. No, I don't like it at all. Category:PG-Rated Story Category:Friendship Category:Adventure Category:Action Category:Original Character Category:Aphrodite Category:Children of Aphrodite Category:Lao123 Category:Complete